Wings of the Fayth
by Zephyrclaws
Summary: The Final Aeon was never supposed to have more than one Fayth. When it does, all hell breaks loose, and Yuna is cast into the void. Upon awakening, the first thing she sees is... a girl with wings? FangxMax, eventual YunaxIggy
1. Void

Wings of the Fayth

Chapter 1: Release

I know that a lot of you are gonna be fairly annoyed that I haven't been working on my other stories lately, but, like so many others, I just couldn't get this idea out of my head; This is my first fic that has nothing to do with Naruto, so it may not be as high-quality as my other works.

For this story, i'm going to assume that the Aeons can talk while in their summoned forms, and simply choose not to. This starts in the middle of The Angel Experiment (book 1)

For those who've played FFX, but haven't beaten it, there are spoilers. You have been warned.

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Yuna stared at Yunalesca. "I will save Spira from this blight! And I will do it without... false hope." A fierce determination burned in her eyes. As one, she and her guardians stepped forward to defeat the ancient priestess.

One indescribeable fight later...

Yunalesca fell down, panting. "You fools... You've released the power of transformation." Yuna turned her back. "We don't need the Final Aeon to beat Sin." Yunalesca began laughing madly. Her body dissolved in a flash of light, leaving a blitzball-sized orb floating in the air. It hovered for a moment, before exploding, bathing the arena in brilliant white light. Yuna closed her eyes... and when she opened them, she gasped, horrified at what she saw. The entire arena was now a flattened, clear dome; beneath, she could see the bodies of her former guardians, petrified. They began to glow, and, a monstrous shape emerged from the newly-created fayth. Throwing its head back, it gave a mighty roar. The air began to swirl around it, the very fabric of space distorted by its presence. Yuna stared, shocked into complete stillness. Slowly, a patch of space in front of the monstrosity ripped itself open, creating a void of the deepest black.

Elsewhere in Spira

The priests of Besaid rushed about, frantically looking for answers to this phenomenon. A beam of pure, white light radiated from Valefor's fayth, carving a hole in the roof of Besaid Temple; and then, just as suddenly as it came, the beam stopped. The head priest entered the Cloister of Trials hesitantly, and then covered his eyes, groaning. Where the Fayth had been, there was now only an empty hole.

All across the planet, the same thing was happening to each and every Fayth. One by one, the Aeons spent themselves attempting to seal the void, only to fail, and be sucked in.

Yuna couldn't hold on any more; Her fingers slipped, and she lost her grip on the rock she'd been holding on to. Screaming, she fell into the void.

Yuna blinked groggily as she slowly returned to consciousness. She tried to sit up, only to bang her head against something hard. Rubbing her head, she looked around... a cage? Stretching out her arm, she grasped the metal bars, woven in a pattern of small squares. Shaking her head to dispel the last of her sleepiness, she looked around. What she saw made her heart ache; row upon row of small cages, each containing a small, deformed child. One in particular caught her eye, a small girl. She was bruised all over, and a small, dirty wing was draped loosely over her head.

As she watched, the bird-girl began to stir, and a pair of bright blue eyes met her own. Yuna winced as she saw that the girl's face was a mass of bruises. Muttering under her breath, she cast Curaga; A rope of white light extended from her hands to the bird-girl's cage, wrapping around her frail body. Immediately, her bruises began to heal, and the girl stared at the summoner with a look of wonder. Just as Yuna finished healing the girl, and the rope disconnected, a door opened; it was too far beyond her cage to see it, but she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. What she was about to do next, she'd never done before; without her staff, it would take a massive amount of concentration. Clasping her hands together, she closed her eyes, and called to Ifrit.

A ring of flames appeared on the floor, and the circle of ground within it turned brown, and rose up. Whoever was walking into the room began to shout. "What the hell is that!?" She smiled wryly at the pun, before a statue appeared within the uplifted column of earth, and it came to life, revealing Ifrit in all his glory. He looked around for a second or two, searching for his summoner, before he spotted her. He growled,and touched the lock on her cage, melting it instantly. After ensuring that she was safe, he turned to the whitecoats, and narrowed his eyes. "Who is it who dares treat my summoner this way?" The men backed off, even their Eraser escort paling in fear. Ifrit roared, and the whitecoats ran.

Max awoke suddenly, her head ringing. She felt hot breath on her back, and turned around, coming face to face with Ifrit. She cracked her knuckles, ready to fight whatever creature the Whitecoats had sicced on them, when the hellhound reached out a claw... and melted the bars on her crate. Warily, she crept out of the crate, and watched as Ifrit freed the rest of the flock. Yuna walked out from behind the Fire Aeon, and bowed. "I am the summoner Yuna." Max nodded. "Max." She did a quick 360, and in one of the crates, she spotted... a feather?

"Angel!" Quickly, she rushed over to the cage, unlocking it. She helped Angel out of the cage, and checked her over. Angel beamed at her. "Yuna did this weird thingy with a rope of light, and she healed me!" Max raised an eyebrow. "Oookaay..." She cocked her head, listening. "Guys, we gotta get outta here." Angel looked to Yuna. "But what about her? She can't fly!" Max bit her lip, but Yuna just smiled. "That may be true, but I can summon, and I'm sure Valefor would be happy to help." At the flock's confused looks, she quickly explained. "A winged creature, and one of my best friends."

Just when you think things can't get any weirder, they do. I was still in shock from seeing a giant, horned dog rip through the steel-reinforced walls like tissue paper; that was strange enough. But when we reached the open air... things got a whole lot weirder. The oversized hound turned into glass, and disappeared; then Yuna started running, praying, of all things! A strange circle of light started spinning around her, and that was when I figured out that she was calling another one of those... creatures. The rest of us were safely up in the air at this point, but she was about to be overtaken by the Erasers swarming out of the building, when four balls of light shot from the circle into the sky... and exploded.

I don't say this often, but... it was beautiful. A giant bird-thing came down from the explosion, and picked Yuna up in its talons. I was about to turn around, when i noticed something out of the corner of my eye; one of the whitecoats looked familiar... my heart skipped a beat, and my vision began to narrow until all i could see was his face, smiling up at me. _Jeb!?_ As I saw him down there, in the trademark white coat we'd all come to know and hate, my jaw clenched, and every kind memory I had of him, shut down. In their place, a new feeling arose within me, a hatred so strong that it scared even me. Believe me, that's saying something. I growled, but, as the Erasers were carrying guns, I didn't risk going any closer.

Yuna joined the flock, now on Valefor's furry shoulders. Max's expression was furious, as she angled closer to Angel. "Angel, sweetie, was that...?" Angel nodded. "Yeah. Jeb's one of Them." The rest of the flock stiffened, while Yuna raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Who's Jeb?" Max sighed. "He was... like a father to us. He's the one who rescued us from that place in the first place." Max shook her head, as if to clear her mind, and she looked over at Yuna in confusion. "So... how is it that you can call those..."

Valefor looked over at her. "We are called Aeons." Max twitched. "You can talk?" He chuckled lightly. "Indeed we can, child. We usually prefer not to, but we can." Max was slightly annoyed at being called 'child', but decided not to press the issue. Yuna continued where Valefor left off. "I am a summoner; it is our duty to aid the people of Spira-" Max raised a hand in a 'stop' gesture. "Spira?" Yuna tilted her head to the side, confused. "Yes...?" Valefor sighed. "It would seem, Lady Yuna, that we are in a world quite unlike our own. As such, they most likely will not understand much of our terminology."

Yuna nodded. "Spira is... my home. The ground, the seas, the air..." Max thought about it for a moment. "I'm guessing you mean Earth. The whole planet?" Yuna nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, a summoner's job is twofold. The first part is to perform what we call 'sendings'; this is to make sure that the souls of the recently deceased find their way to the Farplane, instead of staying in Spira to become fiends." Fang flew closer to Valefor. "Farplane?" Yuna looked over at him. "The afterlife." Fang nodded.

The second part of our job is to defeat a creature called 'Sin'; It's an enormous fiend and it can only be defeated by a summoner who has gone on a pilgrimage to all of the temples in Spira, and prayed at their Fayths. Fayths are statues located deep within the temples; they house the spirits of the Aeons, such as Valefor here. If a summoner gains the approval of a Fayth, he or she is permitted to summon the Aeon contained within. Once a summoner has visited all of the Fayths, they travel to the ancient ruins of Zanarkand; there, they meet the spirit of the lady Yunalesca, who supposedly holds the key to the only way of defeating Sin." Max took a moment to digest the information. "Supposedly?" Yuna's eyes hardened. "There's got to be another way, I just know it!"

Fang 'hn'ed. "What's wrong with her way?" Yuna sighed. "I forgot to mention this, but every summoner travels with at least one 'guardian', to ensure that they aren't killed by fiends before they reach the end of their pilgrimage. What Yunalesca does, is turn one of the summoner's guardians into a fayth, in order to summon the 'Final Aeon', which is said to be the most powerful of all Aeons. Its power is enough to beat Sin, but at the cost of the summoner's own life. That's not the worst of it, though..."

Fang frowned. "You sound as if this has been done many times before." Yuna nodded. "Sin itself is not the problem. It's actually an Aeon, created by a godlike being known as Yu Yevon. Every time a summoner beats Sin by using the Final Aeon, Yu Yevon possesses the Aeon, and transforms it into a new Sin. Fortunately for the people of Spira, it takes ten years for the transformation to be complete. This period is known as the Calm, and it's what a summoner lives for." She chuckled, realizing her pun. "In fact, it's what we die for." Max looked over to Angel, who nodded. Yuna was confused, but said nothing.

A few minutes later, Valefor noticed a dark cloud heading their way, and squinted. "It would seem that there are two more of your kind at the head of that flock." Nudge shouted, "Iggy! Gazzy!"

One tearful reunion later, we were back on the road. Well, above the road, but you get the point. We'd stopped for the night at the cave at Lake Mead, and we were headed east. Why? No idea. We were all enjoying the feeling of flying, for no other reason than to be free. Gazzy and Nudge were showing off for Yuna, doing crazy tricks in midair. She laughed lightly, enjoying the show, and I smiled. She seemed like a good person so far; Angel hadn't picked up any 'evil' vibes, and, as crazy as it was, her story was true. And, you know, there was the healing. I sighed happily. Then, in the next second, I choked. I think I made some kind of sound, then a blinding, stunning pain exploded behind my eyes.

Valefor tensed, then dropped to intercept Max as she fell. Gently, he caught her in his talons, then lowered her into Fang's waiting arms. Max moaned, clutching her head. After a while she stopped, and she was able to think coherently. Fang looked down at her. "Man, you weigh a freaking _ton_. What've you been eating, rocks?" Her lips twitched. "Why, is your head missing some?" Nudge edged closer, her expression worried. "Max, are you okay?" Max nodded. "Let's find a place to land. Please."

An hour later, they landed, making camp for the night. Max and the others cleared brush away from their chosen site, while Yuna cast Fire to get one going. She sat beside the flames, staring into the flickering vortex. Slowly, tears made their way down her face, and she buried her face in her arms. Suddenly, she tensed, as she felt a feather-light touch run across her neck. She heard someone sit down beside her, and she looked up to see the one they called Iggy. He looked over her shoulder, a questioning expression on his face. She sighed, and looked around, seeing that everyone was sitting around the fire, staring at her curiously. She lowered her chin to her arms. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Max nodded, understanding. Speaking of things she'd rather not talk about... "Guys, I've got some bad news. Jeb's alive, and... he's one of Them." For a moment, everyone was silent. Unsurprisingly, Nudge was the first to speak up. "What? But-but-but... Jeb?!" Max nodded. Gazzy was stunned into complete silence; Fang was almost always silent anyway, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Nudge was crying, and Iggy stalked off into the trees.

Later that night, Iggy came back, his knuckles bloody. Yuna stood up, her hands already glowing with the energy of Cure. Iggy heard a faint humming in the air, and cocked his head to the side. "What's that?" Yuna simply grabbed his hands, and whispered "Heal..." The skin on his hands began to knit itself back together. Iggy's eyes widened in amazement. Suddenly, he stiffened, and Yuna stopped. She bit her lip, worried. "What is it?" Iggy shook his amazement. "For a moment there, I could... see..."

Yuna nodded. She'd been able to guess that he was blind, based on the directions Max gave him. Brightening, she realized something. "You weren't born blind, were you?" Iggy shook his head. "The scientists at the school tried to 'enhance' my vision, and, well... it didn't exactly work out." Yuna smiled. "Well, then, this should be easy." Iggy's eyes widened, as he heard the same hum he'd heard earlier, and felt Yuna's hands lightly rest themselves on his forehead. "Close your eyes, please." Bemused, he shut them, and felt Yuna's hands move down to his eyelids. After a few seconds, she removed her hands, panting slightly. She smiled at him. "Open up!" Iggy opened his eyes, and blinked, amazed.

"I can see!"

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As usual, please R&R.


	2. Coping

Wings of the Fayth

Chapter 2: Coping

Well, I must say, i'm rather disappointed at the lack of reviews. Nonetheless, I have had tremendous inspiration for this story, almost to the point where I know how it'll end. As a usually spontaneous writer, I'm enjoying it, so I shall continue the story.

On that note, there _will_ be a Yuna/Iggy pairing, much, MUCH later. Yuna is still recovering from losing Tidus so suddenly, so don't expect her to make any moves anytime soon. And yes, before you ask, I've added an extra day to their trip.

Though this plot is mine, I do not own Maximum Ride, nor do I own FFX.

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Iggy stared in wonder at his surroundings. He had long ago accepted that he'd never be able to see; it was simply a fact of life. Now that his sight had been miraculously restored to him, everything looked more beautiful than he ever could have imagined. His eyes finally came to rest on Yuna, and his eyes widened further. She was smiling at him, her hands clasped behind her back. For a moment, all he could do was stare, his face heating up rapidly. Before he could lose his nerve, he wrapped her in a fierce hug. Brokenly, he whispered, "Thank you." She stiffened at his embrace, and awkwardly patted his back. "You're welcome... but it's getting hard to breathe..." Mortified, Iggy leapt back, and Yuna smiled.

For the next half hour or so, there was silence, as everyone ate. When they all began to get ready to sleep, Angel tugged on Max's sleeve. "Umm, Max... I heard stuff in the school. Stuff about us." Max tensed, and raised an eyebrow. "Stuff people said, or stuff they thought?" Yuna's eyes widened, but she said nothing. Angel blinked. "Stuff they thought." Max sat down, as did the rest of the flock. Angel bit her lip. "We're not test-tube babies. We had real mothers." Max's eyes widened. Nudge leaned forwards, her eyes fearful. "Did you find out... anything else? Like, how they got the bird-genes into us in the first place?" Angel scrunched her face. "I think it was called an ammo... amino..."

Max finished for her. "Aminocentesis?" Angel nodded. Max clenched her jaw. Angel looked over at Nudge. "The doctors told your parents that you died." Nudge hugged her knees. "Iggy, your mom died when you were born, and they told your dad that you died, too." The Gasman leaned forwards. "What about our parents? How did the scientists get us both?" Angel began to cry. "Th-they _wanted_ to help the School. They gave us away for money." Gazzy punched the ground. "Fang, your mom was a teenager. They never found out who the father was." His eyes hardened, but he said nothing. Gazzy clenched his fists. "Those scum-sucking jerks! I'm glad I don't know them!" Nudge leaned against Max for support. "I just want this day to end..." Max nodded. "I know." Wordlessly, Fang held out his fist, and the others stacked theirs on top. Yuna wasn't invited; she didn't ask.

The next morning, they were all flying east, trying to forget the night before. Iggy was explaining to Yuna the technical terms she didn't understand, and teaching her about technology in general. At the mention of bombs, she paled. "B-but!" Valefor turned his head to the side, regarding her with a sky-blue eye. "Remember, Lady Yuna, we are in a completely different world than our own. Here, there is no Sin, and thus no reason for Machina to be forbidden." Iggy raised an eyebrow. "Machina?" Yuna sighed. "Any kind of mechanical weapon, such as guns, bombs, airships... they are forbidden in my world."

Off to the side, Angel was talking to Max. "I heard something else, at the School. There's a place where they have all kinds of information about us, like, our DNA, and stuff. It's called..." She scrunched her face in concentration. "I can't remember... it was some kind of Institute... The Living Institute, or something like that. It's in New York."

The next day...

The flock took off, headed east. Max went last, ensuring that no one had seen them... and plummeted as another railroad-spike of pain shoved itself into her head. Fortunately, she was only ten feet off of the ground. She curled up into a ball, clutching her head. Leaping off of Valefor, Yuna murmured "Sleep", and Max's eyes closed as she sank into a dreamless sleep, completely cut off from her senses, and consciousness. Yuna touched her forehead, and a crosshair-shaped mark appeared, moving to stay centered on her fingertips as she Scanned Max. Yuna frowned. "I can't find anything physically wrong with her. There's an abnormally high amount of activity in her brain, seeing as I've put her into a dreamless sleep. It's almost as if there's someone else in there with her." She looked over at Angel, who raised her hands in a 'not me' guesture.

Max opened her eyes blearily, blinking slowly. She'd been experiencing an intense, almost maddening amount of pain, and then... it stopped. Shaking her head, she asked, "How long was I out? Yuna leaned over her, concerned. "An hour or so. I kept you under a spell to make sure you stayed asleep, but..." Max groaned. "What went wrong?" Yuna clasped her hands nervously. "A side-effect of the sleeping spell leaves the target unable to coordinate their movements, sometimes for an entire day after the application. It was never meant to be used on a patient, but... I couldn't just let you suffer like that. Max nodded jerkily. "Thanks, but... how are we gonna get out of here? Valefor can't carry us both." Yuna smiled. "Fortunately, Valefor isn't the only Aeon who flies. He's the faster of the two, but Bahamut is much stronger. He should be able to carry us both, easily." Max twitched. "How many Aeons can you summon?" Yuna laughed. "Ten. I had to do a _lot_ of walking." Max laughed as well. "Well, then, we'd better get moving." Yuna nodded, and began to pray. After a few moments, Max was beginning to get confused. "Why isn't there that circle-thing on the ground?" Yuna sighed, exasperated. "Bahamut likes to make an entrance. Look up."

Max looked, and saw a giant circle, yellow this time. It spun slowly in the air for a moment, before a giant blue dragon erupted through it, symbols trailing after it. Bahamut landed upright, crossing his arms. "So, these are the bird-children Valefor's been talking about?" Max nodded, too shocked to say anything. Noticing her, and the rest of the flocks' awed expressions, he chuckled. "Is there any particular reason you've summoned me, or did you just want to show off?" Yuna rolled her eyes. "There's something wrong with Max, here; I had to use Sleepga, and she's just now awakened." Bahamut nodded, and dropped to all fours. "All right then. Climb aboard." Yuna and Fang each grabbed an arm, and hauled Max onto Bahamut's back. His ring attached itself between his wings, giving them something to grab onto. Once he was sure that they were holding on, he burst into the air.

A few hours later, Max was able to fly on her own, much to her relief. They stopped at a small diner, and after Yuna gave Max a thorough Scan, she summoned Valefor, and they left.

Valefor tensed. "Lady Yuna, I believe there is something of importance in this 'New York' we are going to." Yuna leaned down, to hear him better. "What is it?"

"A Fayth."

Her eyes widened. "Really?" He nodded. "If we can get to it, you may be able to convince the Aeon within to add its powers directly to your own." Yuna cocked her head to the side. "How?" Valefor sighed. "It is not very well known, but we have discovered, over the centuries, that an Aeon is capable of 'merging' with their summoner in a sense. If a summoner were to merge with all of the Aeons, his or her power would easily surpass that of Sin." Yuna frowned. "If you could give someone the means to defeat Sin without losing their life, why haven't you done it before?" Valefor sighed. "We have. The human's name was Yu Yevon." Yuna took a moment to digest this. "I am honored that you find me worthy." If Valefor had lips, he would've been grinning.

"I must warn you, though... there are many... curious humans around the Fayth. The barrier over it has prevented them from reachingthe inside, but they have been trying to break through, without much success. I fear if we do not get there soon, they may destroy it in their attempts to get inside." Yuna raised an eyebrow, confused. "How do you know this?" Valefor answered, "We Aeons can communicate with each other, and, in a rather limited manner, we can feel what's going on around other Fayths. It's odd, though... I cannot seem to talk to this particular Aeon, and it feels... disjointed. As if it were recently formed." Valefor winced as he realized what he'd said, and Yuna's eyes widened, as the tears began to flow down her cheeks. Iggy drifted over, concerned. "Yuna? What's wrong?" He got no answer; Yuna simply sat there, almost too shocked to breathe. Iggy pulled ahead, coming eye-to-eye with Valefor.

"What did you say to her!?" Valefor moved his head slightly, staring Iggy in the eyes. "I inadvertantly reminded her of how she got here. That memory is... rather painful, for her." Valefor paused for a moment, and then whispered, "You seem... attached, to my summoner." Blushing Iggy nodded. Valefor sighed sadly. "I thought as much. If that's the case, then I must warn you; Yuna was... similarly attached to one of her guardians, who died when it happened." Iggy's eyes widened, then he nodded. Valefor saw his dejected expression, and brushed against him gently with one wing. "She'll get over it eventually... but you must allow her time to heal. The best thing you can do right now is to try to be her friend." He paused again, and when he spoke, Iggy could hear the smile in the Aeon's voice. "For what it's worth, I think you'd be good for her." Iggy smiled, and whispered, "Thanks."

A few hours later, New York cam into view. Max signaled for the flock to come together, so that they could all hear her. "Okay guys, here's the plan. Since Valefor would attract a lot of attention in the city, we'll have to land somewhere out of sight. Then, we head into town, do some recon, find out where this institute is." Iggy spoke up. "If it's just for a few seconds, I can carry Yuna, so we don't have to worry about that. I could hold on to her long enough to land safely." Max looked over at Yuna. "You okay with that?" Yuna nodded, her face still abnormally pale from earlier. Valefor cocked his head to the side, curious. "I hear an odd sort of music up ahead..." Iggy closed his eyes, concentrating. "It sounds like a concert." Nudge 'squee'ed. "An outdoor concert! I've never been to one of those! Can we go, Max?" Max bit her lip, deciding. "Alright. Land behind a spotlight, so no one sees us."

Yuna looked over at Iggy. "Are you sure that you're strong enough?" Iggy nodded confidently. "Yeah. It won't be for too long, anyway." Yuna sighed. "Alright. Valefor?" He nodded, and disappeared, dropping Yuna into Iggy's waiting arms. He grunted with the strain, but he said nothing. Swiftly, they descended with the rest of the flock, landing awkwardly, but safely. Yuna leapt out of Iggy's arms quickly, smoothing her obi(A/N:Large bow, tied in the back). They walked into the crowd with the rest of the flock, wading through the cheering fans. Yuna's mood lightened. Seeing this many people happy... it was what summoners truly lived for. It amazed her still, even after months spent on the road in Spira, that such a simple thing as music, or sport, could bring people together, but bring them together it did. For an hour or two, she forgot about her past, forgot about what she'd lost, and simply enjoyed the music.

* * *

Well, there it is. I know it's a little short, but I'm a little stuck, and I figured you'd rather have a slightly shorter chapter now, than wait for a month for a longer one. As always, please review.


	3. Announcement

Announcement

Okay, I know that discourages author's notes as chapters, but I figure that this would reach more people than simply editing my profile - almost no one ever looks at those.

Anyway.

Recently, I've been faced with a dramatic decrease in free time. This translates into a good deal less attention to my stories, and so I am left with one option.

Adoption.

Yes, that's right. I'm keeping Partners, obviously, and maybe Scars, once I rewrite a couple parts in it, but anything else, I don't really have enough attention for.

However, I'm not just gonna give these away to the first guy (Or girl) who asks. To ensure that they find a good home, I'd like a message with the name of the story you'd like to adopt, as well as an example of your own work. I want to make sure that these ideas will get the time and attention they deserve, by an author who, at the very least, knows how to spell.


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